Breakout and social spaces vary, from large common areas, to niche common rooms, to casual meeting, or seating points. They all share one aim.
Every place within your school, or college is there to encourage education, to be part of an immersive learning experience. The classroom has a significant role to play but better for your ethos to be extended.
Innovative breakout areas produce durable learning, students both relax and continue to study. They help each other take their learning forward, they can tinker a little, work with their friends.
The same areas can be adopted for more managed active learning, or used by students for individual work. Each corner, or spare space in your location offers opportunity, just a case of careful adaption.
Creating Welcoming Places
Much has been written about “binge and purge” learning. Not impossible that social spaces could be used for cramming, although good design implants other thoughts.
If we continued on the academic argument, perhaps we could consider interval reinforcement methodology as a benefit of casual learning spaces. Still better to look at them from the viewpoint of students.
They are helped by design indicating purpose, from different carpeting to define breakout areas, to booth seating for getting together, or a few cafe style tables near vending machines.
Colourful furniture can be an asset, or subtly lit, quiet places, or tucked away pockets for small groups. Ample power points, stable work places and flexibility add to them all.
There isn’t one rule for social educational spaces, or one type of space which always works best. The way forward is to understand the individual needs of your establishment and your students.
Support From Morgan Stewart
The age of students can make a difference to design choices, along with your approach to teaching. There are still shared principles which work well.
Large spaces deserve thought on acoustics, small spaces shouldn’t be ignored because they are no use, they may be the opposite. Every social space you conceive will work better if this is a hit with students.
They appreciate what they recognise as dedicated space for them, to study and to share.The educational furnishing team at Morgan Stewart Interiors make this happen, from listening to your plans, to creative design, to high quality installation.
The best breakout and social spaces encourage learning, curiosity, independence. An investment in education we will be happy to help with.
Examples of our recent breakout and social spaces
